BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee

Protection
Palestinian citizens. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has for instance warned that once the Wall is completed,
Israel will begin to expel “illegal Arabs” from Israel, including thousands of Palestinians awaiting determination
of family reunification process. 66
b) The rights to return and citizenship/residency
Palestinians, including IDPs, who remained in Israel after the 1948 war were issued citizenship under the
Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (1952) and in line with the policy to exclude claims to refugee and IDP
rights. This law effectively excludes all Palestinians displaced outside the borders of the state in 1948 from returning
and acquiring citizenship in Israel, de facto denationalizing them. The law does not entitle Palestinian citizens,
including IDPs, to reunite with family members residing abroad. In contrast, all Jewish people, regardless of
their national origin or citizenship, have the right to residency and citizenship in Israel under the Law of Return
(1950).
c) The right to family reunification
Palestinian citizens, including IDPs, who marry a Palestinian resident of the 1967-occupied Palestinian territory
cannot obtain permission for family reunification and may face difficulties in retaining their citizenship and
residency status in Israel. According to the latest amendment to the 1952 Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law
(2005), only Palestinian men aged 35 and older and women aged 25 and older are eligible for temporary visit
permits to Israel. They are, however, prevented from submitting applications for residency or citizenship.
d) The right to housing and property
Palestinian citizens, including IDPs, have the right to own property. However, Israel has adopted a series
of land laws to facilitate the confiscation and transfer of immovable property owned by Palestinians to the
state, the World Zionist Organization (WZO) and the Jewish National Fund (JNF). 67 Property held by the
state, the WZO and the JNF is administered by the Israel Land Authority (ILA) and may not be transferred
by sale or in any other manner. 68 Palestinian refugees and IDPs displaced in 1948 are considered “absentees”
and “present absentees” under Israeli law with regard to property owned or used before 1948, and cannot
repossess such property, which was transferred to the Custodian of Absentees’ Property and is now managed
by the ILA. Israeli land laws have little effect on Jewish citizens, who do not usually own private land, and
Jews may repossess property managed by the Custodian.
e) The right to education and public services
Palestinian citizens, including IDPs, have the right to public education free of charge. Israel’s public education
system has two separate education streams, state secular and state religious (Jewish). Secular elementary and
secondary education is conducted in separate schools for Palestinians and Jews. Schools serving the Palestinian
public receive fewer resources and are obliged to present a curriculum that advances Jewish culture and
Zionist ideology. 69 Public religious schools serve Jewish citizens only; there are no public religious schools for
Palestinian Muslims and Christians. No Arabic-language university education is available, and Palestinians,
including IDPs, are thus disadvantaged when taking university entrance exams. They also experience difficulty
in paying university fees. In general, Palestinian citizens, including IDPs, have unequal access to public services
in Israel. This is mainly as a result of informal discrimination, and also because they are excluded from services
provided by agencies of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). These operate as private agencies abroad,
but carry parastatal status in Israel under the terms of the Israel Lands Law (1960).
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